Front-wheel-brake mechanism.



L. MELANOWSKL FRONT WHEEL BRAKE MECHANISM. APPLICATION {TILED JUNE 8, 1915. REM

WED MN. 29. I917- Patented Mar. 13, 1917 UNITED STATES I THE WHITE MOTOR COMPANY,

A LEo'nnLAnowsKI, or cLnvnLAup, OHIO, ASSIGNQR, BY iunsun users-unsure, T

or CLEVELAND, OHIO, A oonronn'rron or care.

FBONT-WHEEL-BRAKE MECHANISM.

Application filed June 8, 1914, Serial No. 843,665.

To all who-m it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lno'MnLANowsKI, a subject of the Czar of Russia, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of. Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Front-Wheel- Brake Mechanism, of which the following is a-full, clear, and exact description.

prises the elements and combinations thereof set forth in the accompanying claims.

References should he had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a. front elevation with )ortions insection showin b I' the vehicle, due to a portion of a front axle with a wheel hub articulated thereon and the brake mechanism as applied to a'front a side elevatio of the brake drum with the cooperating parts of the brake mechanism. Fig. 23 is a section which shows the manner of engagement between the brake shoe and its guiding support.

Applying a braking force to the front wheels upon a motor vehicle has many ad vantages. Among them may he named that of accomplishing the braking action with much less discomfort toflthe occupants of 'erking, and further it practically 'preven-ts anyskidding of the vehicle.

. Various attempts have been made with a view to applying brakes to the front Wheels of a motor vehicle, but the constructions proposed for accomplishing this result have ing point oi view,

generally been complicated, and are undesirable. from a commercial and manufacturdue to the likelihood of their getting out of order and to the mechanical diliiculties involved in their manufacture. It has been my purpose in the construction herewith proposed to eliminate those undesirable features. L

An axle of usual construction is indicated 'p I at 1. This axle is provided with extending arms 2 and 3. The arm 2 receives one cup of a ball bearing 4. The other cup'is engaged by one end of the knuckle 5, which Specification of Letters Patent.

wheel. Fig. 2 is complementary Patented Mar. 13, 1917. Renewed January as, 1917. Sean No. 145,306.

knuckle has a neck (3, that extends upwardly within the ball bearing 4., The knuckle at its lower end is provided with neck 7, which extends within a sleeve 8, the sleeve being locked with respect to the arm 3 by means of a lock nut l). The sleeve 8 is provided with which is received by a a projecting neck 10, I

hollow nut l1,W-ll1(3l1' nut is' threaded upon its exterior portions tion\ 12 of the brake shoe 13, so as to compensate for wear oi. the shoes, as will be touched upon later.

At the upper rend of the head 5,-there is, a stub rod 15, which extends within the hollow portion of the, head and rests against the rod 1%. This rod enlarged at 16, so as to have a workirig fit within an opening in the arm Upon the portion 16 just mentioned is a. cam plate 17, which is provided with a pin 18 that extends within an opening 19 in the arm 2. From this construction it will be apparent that the cam plate 17 and the parts secured to or integral therewith may move in a longitudinal direction, but cannot rotate.

Cooperating with the cam plate 17 is a cam plate 18, and extending upwardly from this plate 18 is a cylindrical.projection ll) that engages with a i of a hollow member 20, which forms a part of a brake shoe 21. Between the, cam plate 18 and the lower flange of the hollow member '20 there isaball bearing21,which may be of usual construction. The plate 18 has secured to it or made integral with it,

working fit the interior eration of this arm will serve to turn the cam plate 18 with respect to the cam late 17.

The plates 17 and 18 are provided with shoulders and inclined portions represented generally at 23, so that when the plates 17 and 18 are turned relaor inwardly away tively to each other, in the present instance in a clockwise direction, these plates 17 and 18 will he moved apart. Obviously, the number of cam shoulders and inclines which may becmployed immaterial, and I consider it W vent-ion to use as many such shoulders and inclines and of such shape as may he do sirahl or expedient.

The brake shoes 13 and 21, as shown in Fig. 2, are provided with portions which extend upon opposite sides of the hollow members 12 and 20, and the hralce shoes are of such Width that they will perform their braking function in proper fashion. The exact design as to-the Width of these shoes is merely a matter of mechanical skill.

The shoe 13 is provided with arms if and. 13 these arms being provided with flanges 13 and 13 these fla ges being;- spaced and engaging with guiding ribs 23" which. eXtend from opposite sides of a member 23; which member is carried by the knuckle 5. The upper brake 21 is similarlyprovided with arms 21 and 21, Which also have flanges 21 and 21' that engage with the guiding ribs 23? It will be apparent from the construction that each intake shoe is supported at three points, namely, at the point of support of the hollow member, at the center thereof, and by the flanges which engage with the guiding ribs 23. All of these points of support permit the movement of the brake shoes in a longitudinal direction with respect to their points. of support, so that the brake shoes may move outwardly toward the brake drum from the brake drum.

The operating mechanism of the hmlte shoes so constructed that its normal operation is to thrust the brake shoes outwardly into contact with the brake drum, and for the purpose of retrieving; the hralre shoes I have provided springs which engage opposit'ely disposed portions upon the brake shoes, thereby normally drawing" the shoes into inoperative or oil position. Pins 23 extend through flanges 2% and limit the movement of shoes 13 and 21.

A brake drum is indicated at 25, and coinprises the annular flange/2:? as is usual. This drum may be secured to the wheel in any'desired manner. but as have shown it forms a part or" the huh (wonsi'tiuiction which is indicated at 26. This huh con struction of a type well known in the trade, and really requires no explanation as to details of construction. it, should be noted, however, that'thc short zuxle or Wheel axle 27 is secured to or formed integral with the knuckle which is usual coostruction,- this axle supporting the huh construction. and the huh, of course, supporting the radial spokes of the Wheel The huh l provided with a portion 5*, :hich is adapted to he ithin the province of my in-' connected witi'r the usual steering mecha nism in a manner which will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

It will he noteo that as thelmuckle is turned during the operation of steering the front uheels, the brake drum 25, together with the brake shoes 13 and will he turned with it, so that the brake shoes are always in proper position to engage with the hr: ice drum The operating mechanism for the brake shoes, however, does not partake of any rotary movement due to the steel" 1;; of the Wheels, but until actuated remains a fixed position with respect to the stationary Although the operation of the device will undoubtedly he Fell understood from th foregoing description, ll will here append a slmrt description of its operation.

lVhen the lever :32 moved in a clockwise direction the plates ,1? and 18 are moved apart by virtue of the movement of the engaging cam surfaces upon each other. This movement all thrust upon the member 20 oi the brake shoe 21, causing the brake shoe to be moved into engagement with the brake drum The pate 1? will he thrust down: ward, and this thrust will be communicated through the rod 1% and the hollow nut 11; to the hollow nu mher 12 of the brake shoe l3 pushing this brake shoe into engagement with the drum 25; The brake shoes will then retard the rotation of the drum 25 and' the Wheel to which it is connected in a Well understood manner. For the purpose of providing. an adjustment to take care of the wear the brake shoes, and to take up any lost motion in the parts of the brake mechanism, hollow nut 11 is made adjustable with respect to the shoe l3. I

Various modifications may be made in the particular construction which is herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Haring described my invention, I claim:

1. in. a vehicle, the combination with a main axle; a knuckle pivotally secured upon the main axle; a wheel axle carried by the knuckle; a brake drum upon the Wheel; a brake element associated with the drum; :1 1 l extending axially through the lGIHClKl-s: a supporting member for the end '1 supporting member being led by the hralce element ire position of the rod and a may be adinsted; cam

iiiw'lsanisnf. associated with the rod whereby when the cam iriechanism operated the hralce element into contact with drn i.

2. In a vehicle the combination With a main axle, a. knuckle pivotally secured upon the main axle, a Wheel axle secured to the knuckle, a. wheel upon the wheel axle, a.

brake drum associated with the Wheel. two

brake elements associated with the drum, thrust members extending axially with respect to the knuckle, and having operative engagement with the brake elements, a cam engaging the adjacent ends of the thrust members, and means when actuated causing the thrust members to push the brake elements into contact with the brake drum.

3, In a vehicle, the combination with a main axle, a knuckle pivotally mounted on the main axle, a wheel axle carried by the said knuckle, a wheel carried by the wheel axle, a brake drum carried by the wheel, a pair of oppositely disposed brake elements supported adjacent the drum, a rod extending axially through the said knuckle and operatively engaging one brake element, a cam member operatively engaging said rod, a second cam member cooperating with the first cam member, and operatively engaging with the second brake element. one of said cam members being secured. against rotation, and meansfor' operating the other of said cam elements whereby the brake elements are pushed into engagement with the brake drum.

4. In a vehicle, the combination with a main axle, a knuckle pivotally mounted on the main axle, a wheel axle carried by the said knuckle, a wheel carried by the wheel axle, a brake drum carried by the wheel, a plurality of b 'ake shoes adapted to have contact with the brake drum, a hollow post upon each shoe, a thrust member extending into each of the said hollow members of the brake shoes,coope'ating cam members between the said thrust members, cooperating with the brake shoes, one of said cam members being adapted to outwardly the cylindrical members, thereby pushing the brake shoes into contact with the brake drum.

5. In a vehicle, the combination with a be moved to thrust main axle, a knuckle pivotally' secured upon the main axle, a wheel axle carried by the 4 knuckle, a brake drum upon the wheel, a brake shoe adapted to engage the brake drum, said brake shoehaving extending arms which are adapted to slidably engage a portion of the knuckle, mechanism for operating-said shoe, comprising a stationary cam-shaped element which is associated with the axle and non-rotatable, a movable cam member cooperating with the first mentioned cam member, the shoe being directly engaged by the last mentioned cam member, means for operating the last'mentioned cam member, whereby the shoe is pushed into engagement with the brake drum.

6. In a vehicle, the combination with a main' axle, a knuckle pivot-ally secured upon the main axle, a wheel axle carried by the knuckle. a wheel uponthe wheel axle, a brake drum associated with the wheel, a pair of brake shoes adapted to engage the brake drum. the

said shoes being provided with arms which slid-ably engage with portion of the knuckle, a thrust member cxtending through the knuckle, one end of the thrust member being associated one of the shoes, a thrust member associated with the other shoe, a pair of cam members between the said thrust members, one of said cam members being mounted to be nonrotatable, means for operating the other of Said cum members, wherein the thrust members are pushed apart to cause the brake shoes to engage with the brake element.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witso nesses.

LEO 'MELANONSKI.

Witnesses:

A. J. Honson, L. I. PORTER.

with I 

